This invention relates generally to card holders and more particularly to a device for holding a transaction card, such as a gift card, on or within an insert that may be withdrawn from an enclosure of the device. In certain embodiments, the insert is shaped and provided with indicia to function as a measuring tape and the main body of the holder is shaped and decorated to appear as a tape measure housing.
Transaction cards, stored value cards, or gift cards, as they are commonly called based upon their intended use, have become popular gifts. Gift cards typically comprise a stored value card whereby a certain cash equivalent value is encoded upon a magnetic strip applied to the surface of the card. This stored value may be determined by the vendor prior to packaging and display for sale or, may be selected at the point of sale by the purchaser and loaded by the cashier using a magnetic card reader/writer. In some cases, the cash value is not stored upon the card itself but is associated with a card identification number and stored in a remote database.
While popular, gift cards are typically provided with a generic and impersonal design, typically identifying the associated merchant for which the card may be used to purchase merchandise, and therefore are not personalized in view of the intended recipient. What is needed, therefore, is a gift card holder that provides graphical and mechanical enhancements to entertain the gift card recipient and add value to the gift.